Silky 4b hair??

[BBritdenise]

My little brother has these tight curls that are perfectly formed, and they're silky. I've never before seen curls as tight and coily as his but still smooth and silky. You probably can't see the silliness here, but his hair is thick dense and silky when pulled back. When his hair was long enough for braids it was smooth and shiny with no products.

 

[Keen]

I think your brother is more like a 3C but my understanding of the hair type is different from the LHCF majority.

 

[knt1229]

Your bro is not a 4b. His curls appear to be much bigger than a 4b.

 

[ravenhairedcharm]

^ The diameter of the coils is way smaller than any "3c" I've seen. I think it's possible, because I remember a thread where someone posted pics of someone with silky 4a/b hair.

Go to the last page for a link to the pics.

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=391758&page=22

 

[BBritdenise]

Maybe you guys can't see how small he and his curls are. He's only 6 years old here's a pic with my hands in his hair

 

[knt1229]

Maybe you guys can't see how small he and his curls are. He's only 6 years old here's a pic with my hands in his hair

His curls look bigger and more defined than any 4b I have ever seen. Heck, I'm 4a/b myself and my curls don't look anything like his in size or diameter.

 

[BBritdenise]

^ The diameter of the coils is way smaller than any "3c" I've seen. I think it's possible, because I remember a thread where someone posted pics of someone with silky 4a/b hair.

Go to the last page for a link to the pics.

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=391758&page=22

Yea I could totally see my brothers hair looking like that if it had more length. I know hes not a 3c because some areas of my hair are 3c and none of my curls are nearly as tight as his. I'll even post a pic of my tightest curl and ppl on here told me that its 3c.

 

[knt1229]

Yea I could totally see my brothers hair looking like that if it had more length. I know hes not a 3c because some areas of my hair are 3c and none of my curls are nearly as tight as his. I'll even post a pic of my tightest curl and ppl on here told me that its 3c.

Maybe it's the pic but his curls look bigger than yours to me especially the pic of his hairline. Your curl looks similiar to the 4a parts of my hair.

 

[BBritdenise]

Maybe I'm taking bad pictures. Lol. My tightest curl is about pencil thick. His hairline curls are about half the diameter of mine. Maybe if his hair grew out it would loosen up. He has crazy shrinkage bc his curls are so coily.

 

[locabouthair]

the last pic you posted doesn't look like 4b at all. More like type 3.

 

[BBritdenise]

the last pic you posted doesn't look like 4b at all. More like type 3.

The last pic was my hair. I was comparing bc people keep saying he's 3c and at minimum he's 4a

 

[Cheekychica]

As far as I know, 4B doesn't come in silky.

 

[BBritdenise]

Maybe I'm misinformed about hair typing, can someone direct me to a reliable chart. Because if he's 3c then my hair must be 3a.

 

[MilkChocolateOne]

he looks 4a to me

 

[LovelyNaps26]

i've never seen 'silky' 4b hair. now, i have seen 4a curly that are silky but not 4b

 

[Tiye]

As far as I know, 4B doesn't come in silky.

Yes 4b can be coarse, silky or anything in between. If it's silky then the strands are fine and if you slick back the hair to braid it or to make a puff it lies flat and straight.

OP your little brother is cute. Maybe it's your camera blowing up his hair but they look a bit big to be 4b.

 

[ellebelle88]

I dunno. I would say he's a 3c but anyway, that little man is a cutie! Adorable!

 

[Nonie]

I think you all confuse silky (meaning smooth and shiny) with soft (which may not be shiny). 4B hair is soft when moisturized, and finer strands feel even softer when moisturized. And most children I know have very soft 4B hair. I'm the oldest of 4 kids all with 4B hair and I remember my younger brother's hair being so soft and easy to comb when he was a kid w/o any conditioning being done, and he also had the cutest coils which is why we let his hair grow to a little afro. So what you're seeing is nothing new to me.

The baby in OP has FINE strands which is another reason they are soft like a cloud. Of the two babies I posted, the one to the right has finer hair.

This is what 3C hair looks like when short:

And when 3C grows a little more:

or like this: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showpost.php?p=10848178&postcount=157

And for a silky 4B (lots of shine and light reflection implying smoothness), check out @loulou82's hair. She's got tiny coils of the type 4 persuasion but it's not dull like say my hair. The color may also have a lot to do with it--the blacker hair is the more it reflects light: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?p=10848988&#post10848988

For comparison with 4B hair that doesn't reflect light and so isn't silky but is still uber soft (coz there's a difference), check out @Foxglove's hair. (Foxglove, let me know if you don't wish for me to quote your hair pics):

(Source)

 

[southerncitygirl]

i have never seen silky 4b hair.....i've seen silky 4a though. the 4b hair i've seen is usually cottony, thready or a combo of both. your brother looks 3c or 4a to me.

 

[LightEyedMami]

His hair does look 4a to me.. (i don't see 3c or anything 3)

 

[Anavrin]

My brother had hair like that and hes biracial. once he got older it quickly transformed into 4a hair. Your brother may not keep that texture forever, and may grow out of it like we did. If not then hes a lucky little dude.

 

[MzSwift]

I have silky 4b hair sprinkled in all over my head. I will have to try to find a photo of my hair unmanipulated but I don't tend to allow my hair to be free like that.

My strands are fine and I have mostly cottony and silky texture along with (what some would consider) 4a and 4b strands. My hair straightens easily with tension (banding or braiding).

The letter/number combo refers to the curl/kink/wave size or lack thereof and the texture (silky/cottony/spongy) refers to the characteristics of the hair. Coarse/medium/fine refers to the diameter of each individual strand.

I'm not saying that b/c I don't think you know, I think that a lot of people get confused and think that 4b means coarse (synonymous with rough, in laymens terms) When that is not the case at all.

So like @Tiye said, 4b can come in silky, cottony or sponge texture -- as can any other curl type (3a, 3b, 4a, 2b).

 

[GeorginaSparks]

My brother had hair like that and hes biracial. once he got older it quickly transformed into 4a hair. Your brother may not keep that texture forever, and may grow out of it like we did. If not then hes a lucky little dude.

huh.............?

 

[virtuenow]

I have a cousin who has silky 4b diameter hair. She is a little girl, but I was quite surprised b/c I have never ever seen uniform coils that tiny and that silky/shiny. They were definitely not 4a, just too tiny. The diameter is as small as mine, yet her hair manages to clump. Her hair is a mystery to me b/c I didn't think it was possible. So Britt, I'll bite, your brothers hair looks to have tiny coils like a 4b w/shine. I know its possible. However, I would like to give these 4b's a different name & category. They mess up our hair typing system altogether!

 

[McQuay30]

I have a cousin who has silky 4b diameter hair. She is a little girl, but I was quite surprised b/c I have never ever seen uniform coils that tiny and that silky/shiny. They were definitely not 4a, just too tiny. The diameter is as small as mine, yet her hair manages to clump. Her hair is a mystery to me b/c I didn't think it was possible. So Britt, I'll bite, your brothers hair looks to have tiny coils like a 4b w/shine. I know its possible. However, I would like to give these 4b's a different name & category. They mess up our hair typing system altogether!

Sorry to ask this question outiside the thread title but exactly is the diameter for 4b hair and the diameter of 4a hair?

 

[havilland]

i thought 3 c / 4a curls were S shaped

and

4 B curls were Z shaped....regardless of silkiness etc????

my hair is 3c and is not silky or shiny, etc. but it's fine and coarse and has a nice sheen to it. but no shine when curly.

maybe someone can help me understand.

having said that, i have no opinion on whether he is 4a or b or whatnot, i just wanted to say that your lil brother is adorable. and i love his curls regardless of the "type" they are. thanks for posting lil man. he's a cutie!

 

[getoffmylawn]

It looks 4a and cottony to me. I thought type 3 grew in straight at first.

Sent from my SCH-I510 using LHCF

 

[BlaqBella]

A bit confused..but 4a/b..imho more types of hair can be silky than the majority believe.

 

[Ogoma]

I have silky 4b hair sprinkled in all over my head. I will have to try to find a photo of my hair unmanipulated but I don't tend to allow my hair to be free like that.

My strands are fine and I have mostly cottony and silky texture along with (what some would consider) 4a and 4b strands. My hair straightens easily with tension (banding or braiding).

The letter/number combo refers to the curl/kink/wave size or lack thereof and the texture (silky/cottony/spongy) refers to the characteristics of the hair. Coarse/medium/fine refers to the diameter of each individual strand.

I'm not saying that b/c I don't think you know, I think that a lot of people get confused and think that 4b means coarse (synonymous with rough, in laymens terms) When that is not the case at all.

So like @Tiye said, 4b can come in silky, cottony or sponge texture -- as can any other curl type (3a, 3b, 4a, 2b).

Great comment.

I am 4a/b with medium/coarse strands and silky, spongy, and wiry texture. I think people need to learn these things if they are going to take it upon themselves to answer questions about hair/hair typing.

Some of these comments are exhibit A as to why Andre Walker's hair typing system is so flawed. The 'I have never seen silky 4b so it must be 4a/3c' type comments seem to indicate categorization is arbitrary and only based on what the respondent has seen.

 

[McQuay30]

Ogoma What helped you learn the difference from silky, spongy, and wiry texture? I had followed a link to a post of BlackHairCareMedia, but everytime I read it and look at the examples, I am still not grasping the difference. Is this something that is learned on dry no product hair or wet no product hair? Sorry for hijacking the thread